


Terms and Conditions

by cerie



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-28
Updated: 2012-09-28
Packaged: 2017-11-15 05:35:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/523730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cerie/pseuds/cerie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The claiming of new territory was always one of the better spoils of war.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Terms and Conditions

“Do you prefer him?”

The words were soft in the dark but no less clear in their meaning than if they’d been given by a herald in the middle of square at noon. James meant John, of course, as there had been no other man to occupy this brief portion of her intimate life. Helen huffed and shifted to pull away and that seemed to only further James’ resolve, because he tightened his arm around her waist and held her to his chest.

“I’ll have an answer, Helen, even if I shouldn’t have asked. Do you prefer him to me?”

She sighed and squirmed again but it was to no avail. She was held, both by his arm and his gaze, and she would have to give him an answer before he let up on this relentless pursuit to chase something else that had caught his momentary fancy. It wasn’t all that far from describing the whole of their relationship, really, and Helen tried to keep that in mind as she answered.

“That’s as absurd as asking me whether I prefer a lion to a giraffe. Both have their recommendations.” A non-answer, in truth, but it was as best as she felt like giving. Comparing John Druitt and James Watson was only going to end in heartbreak and she wasn’t about to give into the curiosity of it. Besides, if pressed, she didn’t actually prefer one over the other provided John was in his right mind (which he wasn’t) and James was solely focused on her (which, so far as she knew, he wasn’t). There was no perfect answer.

“Is it absurd to want to know if I’m the lion or the giraffe?” Helen swatted him and shook her head. 

“Only madness lay down this path, James, you know that. I love you. I loved him. It’s of no consequence as he is not here with me now and you are. Besides, you’re one to be jealous. It’s not like you only have me.”

James fell quiet and Helen thought that perhaps she’d won, had stunned him into shocked silence, and had her world thoroughly upended when he rolled to pin her beneath him on the bed. His thighs settled on either side of her hips and his hands thrust into her hair, forcing her to look at him. It wasn’t really a hardship, considering how handsome James was, and she met his gaze with her own. She doubted she was nearly as effective at being icy as she wanted to be but she’d always melted more than a little under his gaze. It was a rather-unique gift of his.

James leaned in close, beard scraping her sensitive skin as his lips brushed against her cheeks, her temple, and finally her lips. Helen parted hers in anticipation, thinking he meant to kiss her, but belatedly realized that he was saying something, lips trembling as words spilled across them and onto her own.

“Only because I thought you required it of me to keep myself unavailable, Helen, because you were afraid to love again. Say the word and it stops for as long as you want me.”

Helen laid still beneath him for a moment, considering, before answering him with a fierce kiss. She’d never really kissed before John and while they’d had a passionate relationship, it had been more about being in love than experimenting. With she and James, there was a constant game afoot, one always trying to best the other, and Helen had become an expert on how precisely to drive him mad. That always seemed to have something to do with scraping her teeth against his lower lip and as she did so, she was rewarded by his hands fisting deeper into her hair, tugging just hard enough to elicit a sharp pain and make her see stars.

_That_ was new, as was the wash of warmth between her thighs, and Helen made a note to tell James about that very thing once she had possession of her own lips and tongue once more. He pulled his mouth away and tipped her head back to expose her throat before working her thighs apart to shift one of her legs over his hip. His teeth found the sensitive place at the hollow of her throat as he rocked his hips against her and Helen could feel his cock sliding against the smooth skin of her thigh. He didn’t seem to be in any hurry to press into her, though, and Helen whimpered as the pressure and friction of his body against hers brought her closer and closer to orgasm.

“James! For the love of God, I’m ready! Stop this madness.” Her voice was thin and desperate, pulled tight from too many emotions and too many biological impulses firing all at once and James seemed to give into her for a moment when he let himself slide into her by about a half inch. He stopped mid-thrust and waited, breath warm against her cheek. Helen tried her best to arch her own hips and take what she wanted but found that the way he had her pinned made that absolutely impossible and she was completely at his mercy. She so hated being at the mercy of a man.

“Do you love me?”

Helen huffed and managed a “yes,” through gritted teeth and James rewarded her with another half inch. He laughed and traced the tip of his tongue along the shell of her ear and didn’t cease until she let out a ragged sigh. He bit the lobe lightly and licked it to soothe her skin before whispering his next question.

“Is it only me?” Another yes and she got rewarded a little more. Helen could tell that it was straining his control and though, if she could be patient, she might win this war without any more concessions. She wasn’t entirely prepared for him to brush a butterfly-soft kiss against her cheek and draw back entirely and her frustrated groan was soothed only by his own words in guttural, short phrases.

“Then we have an agreement. Exclusivity for the duration.” 

Helen gasped as he closed the distance once more and raked her nails down his back. The claiming of new territory was always one of the better spoils of war.


End file.
